Not what I was expecting. Unable to get into the story and did not finish. This might be a good book for other readers but wasn’t for me

A sweet and fresh take on the contemporary Christmas centered romance genre. Essentially each holiday has a corresponding royal family that harnesses the joy experienced by people during said holidays in order to perform magic. Again the premise of this book is really unique, I like all the characters quite a lot and the political machinations were interesting to watch unfold. This book takes the real world issue of Christmas slowly encroaching on other holidays and and turns it into a political drama with a forbidden romance between the prince of Christmas and the prince of Halloween thrown in.
I really liked the characters relationships with one another; love a good friendship triad. The plot itself is told over the course of the month leading up to Christmas Eve and the relationship between Coal and Hex develops very quickly. Our boy Coal is ready to jump Hex after their first meeting before even knowing his name. Not a bad thing overall, and I think fans of traditional contemporary romance will love how fast things get intense between Coal and Hex. This is being packaged as Red, White and, Royal Blue meets Nightmare Before Christmas and usually I’m not for these types of tags but this one fits. I would also add that it gives a little bit of a Rise of the Guardians (animated film from 2012) vibe; Coal reminds me a lot of Jack Frost from the film. Looking forward to Kris’s book next!

What if each holiday had a royal family? And what if those royal families all had responsibilities and duties to uphold? And what if all of those get thrown out the window the minute the Prince of Christmas makes out with the Prince of Halloween in a bar alley?

This book was so much more than I expected. We got political intrigue, complex relationships, and a sweet forbidden romance all in one. This is the kind of book you’ll want to read while sipping cocoa next to the Christmas tree.

I’m already looking forward to our next holiday royals story!!

A fun world that revolves are holidays. I enjoyed the take on the holidays and thought the book was a fun quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bramble, and Tor Publishing Group for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Nightmare Before Kissmas on October 8, 2024.

I LOVED this book. The vibes, the banter, the heart? I was hooked immediately and continued to be blown away by the way Sara Raasch depicted relationships between the characters and individual character arcs. This book gave the exact same feel-good emotions as a Christmas movie, and it had an engaging plot to keep things moving in addition to a DELICIOUS queer romance.

Hex and Coal will always have my heart. I loved their tension, their interactions, and their motivations. Each character felt palpably real and relatable, and I would love NOTHING more than to have an epilogue or bonus chapter of them visiting Halloween together. My only complaint is that I wanted MORE Halloween content from our gloomy spooky boy. Otherwise, this book was perfection.

All the stars and 10000000/10 recommend. Everyone better be picking this one up come October!

I’m all in my Holly jolly Halloween feels after finishing Sara Raasch’s The Nightmare before Kissmas! Nicholas “Coal” Claus loved Christmas, but his father, the reigning Santa, has taken the joy out of Christmas, especially when he is commanded to marry his best friend Iris, the Easter princess (and his brother’s crush)—to make it worse, to appease Halloween, he has to compete for Iris’ hand against the Prince of Halloween, Hex, a beautiful man he has been dreaming about since they made out on a drunken night years prior. Oh I loved this book. I loved the magic and the world building. It has a big Red, White and Royal Blue feel, but with all the holidays. I loved the politics, and I loved loved loved these characters. This read is steamy, but in a way that just feels intimate and personal and Hex and Coal are just beautiful together. Coal is wonderfully relatable—he’s anxious and wants to do well for the people he loves. And Hex is all broody and sexy. I love how these two challenge each other and help each other grow. The writing is fun and witty and emotional and there is something so fresh about this story. It’s gooey and steamy and heartwarming, and I could rave about this book all day!

This book kept surprising me with laughs! It was a fun concept that has Christmas and Halloween colliding while competing for the hand of an Easter Princess. Except, it is a reluctant situation all around, with the Christmas Prince and Halloween Prince having feelings for each other. It was cute, while also discussing while imagining the flaws that holidays present as the world becomes more worldly. The main character was annoying but in a just this side of making it endearing, so he didn't drive me too nutsy, particularly cause he liked to make himself the focus of a joke as much as those around him.

A book that's been described as Red, White, & Royal Blue meets The Nightmare Before Christmas: YES PLEASE. This story will be the perfect one to curl up with on a cold winter night. It's addictive, funny, and adorable all the way through. For fans of queer romance, rival holiday princes, magic, fantasy, and royalty.

I loved this book! I enjoyed the premise of the two princes coming together and that the princess Coal had to marry was one of his best friends. I rooted for him from the beginning because it was so easy to see that beneath that exterior of the jokester, he had a heart of gold. I also love that Hex is the prince of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, so there's a tiny bit more representation in the book with him. I hope we see more of Hex's side of things in future books because I'm intrigued to see how the other holidays work and do things (hell, I'd love to see more of that for Christmas, too). Overall, I enjoyed this and highly recommend it!

I am in love with this book. The title and cover caught my eye immediately and the description hooked me right away. What a fun, unique concept!

I loved Coal and Hex so much. They were both so well done and had such great character development. They really complimented each other so well and had such chemistry between them. I also really like Kris, Iris, and Wren. Really, every single character was well done and felt so real that it was easy to get drawn into their world.

I am so excited to read the next book to find out what happened between Kris and Iris and what happens for Kris next!

This is such a fun holiday book. The characters were so likable and I loved the plot. I deff recommend :)

Unfortunately this book was not for me.. Thank you TOR and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review the book.

Fair warning, The Nightmare Before Kissmas will result in premature holiday decorating if read outside the Halloween/Christmas season. You will fall in love with the Princes of Christmas and Halloween as well as their love for their holidays. Quite simply, this book is an absolute delight. I don’t know the last time I smiled or giggled as much as I did while reading this book. I have to say bravo Raasch - you’ve simultaneously given me a new favorite romance book and new favorite comfort holiday read. I challenge anyone to read this and not adore Cole’s character. In general, this book really shines with the characters. I loved the friendship trio of Cole, Kris, and Iris. Hex is a Halloween delight, and I am obsessed with how he uses his holiday to mess with Kris. Be prepared for one liners that absolutely sleigh and great pop culture references. Despite the cozy nature of the read, it deals with some surprisingly heavy topics surrounding abandonment and grief. I both eyeball and audiobook read this and hands down can’t recommend the audiobook enough. Ellis Evans nails the narration. You can fully feel Coal’s anxiety, stress, excitement, and every other emotion experienced throughout the book with Evan’s excellent narration. I also felt that it made the story really come to life and added an extra level to some of the truly fantastic puns. Again, I can’t recommend this story and especially the audiobook enough.

if you're somehow put-off by the cheesy title or the cover art, please don't let either fool you. this was so so fun. i hesitate to compare this to anything because i'm not sure if i've read anything exactly like this, but i think if you threw christmas and halloween magic into a blender with red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquiston, you'd have something like this book.

so, what is it: a prince of christmas (and successor to the one, the only santa claus) named coal is kind of a fuck-up. he reads a letter from a kid making a plea about a parent's lost job, then grants the wishes for a LOT of kids at once which caused problems - overinflation in that country but also the loss of a big chunk of christmas magic. as a result, his dominating, controlling father arranges for him to marry a daughter of easter without his consent and puts on a sham public "competition" for her hand with the son of halloween, hex, who... once kissed coal outside of a bar and has been on coal's mind ever since.

what you will get from this without expecting it: a large chunk of this book is a commentary on capitalism. there's a lot of discussion of christmas becoming expansive and how ultimately it cheapens the meaning of the holiday. christmas also manipulates and is funded by the holiday joy of others and plans to steal more power, a replication of corporate greed.

for me, i think it was really interesting that this was included but... it was written with no commentary about religion at all, which seems strange given christian imperialism is to blame for the expansiveness of christmas and when two of the three main holidays discussed within this book are christmas and easter vying for global power, the exclusion seems strange. but i also realize that, at its crux, this is supposed to be a romcom. i just don't think you can have nuanced conversations about capitalist holidays without also discussing the toxic religious push. and, as other reviews have mentioned, non-western holidays weren't mentioned at ALL. which felt weird.

since this seems (according to goodreads) to be book one in a series, i'm interested to see where the plot will go from here. i think this is a fun read with a cute romance, just some of the political commentary didn't work for me.

Thank you to Tor, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in advance.

This one is actually lived up to the Red, White & Royal Blue comparison.

Coal is the hottest of hot messes. Outwardly he’s a total disaster but his heart is in the right place. His father is very power hungry and has lost sight of their original goals as the stewards of Christmas. He decides to dump an arranged marriage on Coal and the Princess of Easter, Iris, and they both about throw up on the stage. Young love.

There are two love stories in this. Only one is romantic love. I loved how genuinely these brothers love each other. Kris and Nicholas were allies and friends - best friends - and the plot never makes us second guess them.

Coal ends up hooking up with the Prince of Halloween and that goth baby was a dream. The two of them were very sweet together and this book was so fun. I’m excited that the series is continuing.

There are no words that could possibly describe how much I enjoyed this book with my whole heart. I spent ever spare second of my day reading it. It was impossible to put down because I had to know what was going to happen next. There were several times I found myself laughing at the silly puns and jokes. But I was also on the verge of tears a couple times as well. The HEA at the end made all of it worth it.

Originally I had wanted to have this book be my book clubs October read. However, after reading it and discovering that the majority of the book takes place at the Christmas palace. I think it best saved for late November or early December as it will immediately put everyone in the holiday spirit. I absolutely will not be able to wait that long to listen to the audio book and will need to purchase it as soon as it comes out. I can only imagine how much more amazing it will be to get to hear it as well. I will definitely be rereading this every December and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. Not just romance readers.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ of 5 Overall
🌶🌶.5 of 5 on the spicy scale (one open door scene and several other farther then make-out scenes)
☕☕☕☕☕ of 5 on the cozy scale (it takes place at Christmas!!!! Its the ultimate cozy rom-com)
🧁🧁🧁🧁 of 5 on the sweetness scale (very sticky-sweet with just enough tragic backstory to make it relatable)

Sara Raasch has written such a fun book here. The vibes are immaculate. The banter is bantering. God I love our main characters.

This hilarious and sweet holiday rom-com is everything you didn't realize you were missing!

Read this if you like:
✦ Holiday Romance
✦ Slow Burn
✦ MM Romance
✦ Forbidden Lovers
✦ Enemies-to-Lovers
✦ Opposites Attract

┈ MY THOUGHTS ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
- This book was such a delight! I was so unexpectedly impressed by this author (whom I've never read from) and her unique, thoughtful, engrossing story!
- OMG! Coal and Hex are so fucking adorable together 😭
- The magically generated Halloween toys appearing whenever Hex swears are hilarious! I can't even imagine thinking up something like that, it's such a unique and fun quirk to think of the Halloween magic manifesting in such a way.
- I can't wait to read Kris's story!! I'm a little bit sad that Iris doesn't reciprocate Kris's feelings because they would've been soooo cute together.
- Positives: This entire book was so witty and fun, with suspense, angst, and such a sweet sweet romance between the two MMCs.
- Negatives: Honestly, none. I can't think of a single thing I disliked about this book. The only reason I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 is because I don't see myself reading it again but other than that, it really was amazing!
- Overall: DO NOT HESITATE TO READ THIS!! This is the perfect holiday romance and will blow all of your expectations out of the water!

"I kiss him again, a clumsy layering over of our smiles, and we're laughing and this, here, is my victory. He is my spoil of war, the most vital piece in my new-forming foundation. Joy creates magic. I have never believed that more than with him".


┈ OVERVIEW ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
Emojis: 🎄🎅❄🎃🦇👻
Pacing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Format: eBook
POV: One 🎅
Would I Recommend? 👍
Read Again? 👎
Setting / Location: The North Pole
Hero/MMC: Nicholas Claus
〰️Characteristics: Orange hair, tall
〰️Occupation: Prince of Christmas
〰️Age: 22
〰️Nickname(s): Coal
Hero/MMC: Hex Hallow
〰️Characteristics: Dark hair, fair skin
〰️Occupation: Prince of Halloween
〰️Age: N/A
〰️Nickname(s): Sweetheart
H/h virgin? No
First kiss💋: pg19 / 5%
First time they have sex: pg264 / 76%
First time they say "I Love You": pg284 / 82%
Noteworthy Chapters🔥: 12, 16, 22
Kinks: praise
OW/OM Drama? A little bit with the marriage competition
H/h cheat? No
Time apart? A couple of days
Did I cry? No
Ending: HEA 🥰
Standalone/Series? Yes to both
Epilogue? No

⛔️ My reviews can sometimes contain spoilers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sara Raasch, and Tor Publishing Group for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Who knew we needed a mashup of Jack Skellingtom and Red, White and Royal blue? This is a holiday must with Magic and love in the happiest time of year.

What I really loved about this book: queer representation and romance, cozy magical world, royalty, and a rival trope! All in all, it was a fun read.